Safety seal for bottles and the like



Jan. 15 1924. 1,481,035 V w. A. STATTMANN SAFETY SEAL FOR BOTTLES AND THE LIKE Filed June 9. 19 23 contents of the bott e.

'?at ented .ian. 15, 1924. I

WALTER A. srAT'rMA m, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR To .PUBLIc SAFETY c'AP century, or CHICAGO, LLINOIS, [A CORPORATION or ILLINOIS.

SAFETY smLroB. BOTTLES Inn) THE LIKE.

To allwhomz'tm'a con-06m:

Be it known that I, WALTER A. Sun'- MANN, a citizen of the United States, and a \resident' ofv Chicago, county of Cook, and

State of Illinois, have invented certain new.

and useful Improvement in and for Safety Seals for Bottles; and the like, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide a device for sealing a bottle or similar.

whereby the crown portion of said cap is rendered readily removable for access to the hermetic closure b the consumer of the The invention consists in t-he' novel feature of the construction of the cap hereinafter fully described and claimed. v

In the accompanying drawings illustratin a suitable embodiment of the invention:

ig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a bottle equipped 'wit-h a cap constructed in accordance with .the invention.

-Fig. 2 is a fragmentary central vertical section of the sameon the line 2-2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3-. is a transverse section of the same on the line, 3--3 of Fi 1, the severing means being shown as part y detached from the cap. w

'Fig. 4 is a'perspective view of the cap before being mounted on the bottle.

The mouth ,portions. of bottle necks are usually provided with .tapered exterior circumferential walls as shown at A in'Fig. 2, therebeing an annular groove B below said taperedportion having an annular bead C and a second annular groove D below the groove B. V V These features are characteristic of nearly all bottles, the depth of the grooves B and D and the angle of the shoulders bordering the same differing to some extent.

Thebottle neck is normally sealed by a cork E or any other suitable hermetic .closure and which may, as in the instance illus- Application men June 9,1923. Serial m. e44,ss4.-

trated, include a crown portion F resting upon-the rim of the bottleneck.

The cap of m invention comprises a. slightly tapered s eet metal sleeve G conforming in contour approximately with the surface por lon A of the bottle neck and be-' ing of greater length than the latter so that its lower end portion is adapted to extend over the groove B ancl bead C and prefer-' ably at least partially over the groove D. The o her end of the vcapis provided with'a .head H.integral with the sleeve G and adapt- E and its ed to cover the closure-element crown portion F ,;if any.

It is an essentialffeature of the invention that said cap shall-becomposed of asheet metal which possesses a certain "degree of ,malleability while at the same time it is sufficiently stlif to resist easy manipulation by ordinary tools. This is more-fully. explained hereinafter in connection with the operation of the dev1ce.

- To seal a'bo -tle to the extent. indicated a grooves B and D and the intervening bead. C. It is thus held there firmly in place upon the bottle neck, thei' metal being such that any attempt to release thecap from engagement in the grooves B and D, will result in a fracture of the metal and prevent the replacement of the cap upon the bottle neck without rendering clearly visible the fact that it has been tampered with.

.of aid cap are separated from each other by a ribbon I of the metal which is integral with said base and crown portions, respectively, and is bordered by a pair of parallel substantially annular incisions J which serve to weaken the metal along these lines to such an extent as o. permit the ribbon I to be very easily severed from the crown and base portions, respectively, by digital engagement of the tongue K which is integral with one end of the ribbon I and projects into an openingL in the circumferential wall of the cap, sa1d opening being of greater area than sa1d tongue so as to provide a free space around the latter suc'has will perm1t the hermetic closure of the bottle, while the baseportion remain mounted upon the latter.

Obviously, in order that such digital severance of the ribbon from the cap may be effected, the metal of the cap must be readily bendable, and the incisions rendering the severance of the ribbon from the bottle easy, must be relatively deep without, however, rendering the joint between the ribbon and the base and crown portions of said cap so delicate or fragile as to cause the crown :portion to be accidentally removed in the ordinary handling of bottles provided with such caps in commerce. I

. have found aluminum or an aluminum alloy to be very satisfactory for the purpose. The

exact location of the ribbon between the ends of the cap is preferably such that after. severance of the "ribbon from the cap and.

the removal of the crown portions the lips may be applied to the mouth of the bottle without danger of being cut by the raw or bird edge presented by the remaining base portion.

Y jVVhile I have illustrated and described the preferred form of embodiment of the inthat such embodiment is capable of being changed and varied in minor details of construction without departing from the invention as definedin the appended claims.

- I claim: y,

1. A bottle seal comprising a sheet metal cap adapted to cover the mouth portion of the bottle and secured thereto for preventing access to the cork or other hermetic closure of the bottle, said cap provided between its ends with a substantially annular strip integral therewith andbordered by substantially parallel incisions for rendering said ribbon easily severable from the cap to thereby divide the latter into two parts, one thereof removable to expose and pro vide access to the hermetic closure thereof, there being an' opening; in the-cap in the plane of said ribbon, the latter terminating at one end in a tongue projecting into said opening.

2. A bottle seal comprising a sheet metal cap adapted to cover-the mouth portion of strip integral therewith and bordered .by substantially parallel incisions for rendering said ribbon easily severable from the cap to thereby divide the latter into two parts, one thereof removable to expose andprovide access to the hermetic closure thereof,

between and integral with said crown and respectively, and readily.

base portions, severable therefrom for effecting separation thereof, said cap composed of thin sheet metal capable of being ,readily digitally bent and said ribbon bordered by incisions rendering the same readily severable from the cap by digital engagement thereof, said ribbon terminating at one end in a. digitally accessible tongue, there being an opening in the cap of greater area than said tongue in'which the latter is normally disposed, providing free space bordering said tongue.

4. A bottle-cap comprising a sheet-metal cup adapted to be inverted to receive the mouth portion of a bottle, the circumferential wall of said-cup contiguous to the mouth portion thereof adapted to be contracted about the bottle neck to secure said cap, the latter provided between its ends with an opening, parallel continuous incisions extending circumferentially of the cap from one wall of said opening to the opposite Wall thereof and bordering a strip of metal integral with and adapted to be severed from the cap for dividing the same into two separable parts, said strip of metal terminating at one end in a free tongueprojecting into said opening and spaced from the walls thereof to provide open spaces bordering both sides of said strip and between the free end thereof and the opposed wall of said opening to thereby provide access tosaid tongue by a finger-nail for bending said tongue to project outwardly,

for digital engagement thereof, said tongue being of a length permitting the same to be grasped between the tips of the thumb and index finger and said incisions being of a depth to effect weakening of the metal to an extent enabling the said strip to be torn out of the cap by digital engagement without the use of tools or the like.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this 2nd day of June, 1923.

WALTER A. STATTMANN.- 

